Grand Canyon, A trip of a lifetime

We had our trip to the Grand Canyon planned so many months ago.  You have to plan ahead to get all of your reservations for Campgrounds, Tours, etc.. etc.. 

And this wasn't just a trip to the Grand Canyon. 

We only stayed in 2 spots.  4 nights at Jacob Lake, about a 45 minute drive from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and then 4 nights at Wahweep Marina Resort, at Page Lake Powell.  

There are so many things in the area and along the way, that we had an amazing trip planned!  

By the time we had booked our trip, all of the campgrounds at the North Rim were full, so we had to stay about 45 minutes away, and drive to the Rim everyday, but it was beautiful!

How can I condense a 9 day trip and about 1300 pictures into one blog post?  Well, I'm going to try.  

Wish you could see all the pictures, but it's just not possible.

We stayed at Jacob Lake, In Kaibab Camper Village Campground.  There were tall Pines, and it was nice and cool.  A wonderful place to stay.  I would totally recommend it to anyone!  One of Chris' nephews worked at Jacob Lake Inn when he was younger, so he told us all about it.  And Chris does great research also.  

I think this is the farthest we've ever towed our trailer before.  But it was so much fun!  Knowing that your personal Space and stuff are always with you!  Your own bed, and pillow every night.  Not a bad gig!  Our Condo on Wheels :)

 The Kaibab Squirrel. Only found in the Ponderosa Pine Forests of the Northern Kaibab Plateau. Basically, they are only found at Jacob Lake and Grand Canyon North Rim. I saw a few, and they are always on the move, and hard to get a good picture of.  I got a couple of pictures but this one was the best.  Crazy looking thing! 

A stop at Jacob Lake Inn for the Chocolate Parfait cookies, that Ryan told us we had to have.  The gift shop was amazing too.

Grand Canyon

We spent 2 full days exploring the North Rim.  Of course, we probably only saw about 5% of the Grand Canyon.  There is so much to see.  I think this is a place you have to visit quite a few times :)

The Lodge is awesome!  It was originally built in 1927-28.  It caught on fire and part had to be rebuilt in 1936-37.  When they rebuilt, they added a 2nd story and observation tower.  And modified the roofline to hold more snowfall.  It's made from Kaibab Limestone, and Ponderosa Pine Logs.

There's a lot more history, but those are the bones.

Bright Angel Point Trail

Angels Window.  Totally different trail from Bright Angel Point.

Both a bit scary if you are scared of heights.  Both trails got so skinny at one point, that it dropped off hundreds of feet on either side and you could touch the hand rails with both hands.

The day we had to leave, Chris was already making plans to go back!  He LOVED the Grand Canyon!  It is so impressive.  You can't imagine the hugeness of it all.  It really is amazing!

One day when we were driving to the North Rim, we noticed a Tower.  Chris decided to pull of and check it out.  It turned out to be the Jacob Lake Lookout Tower.  

A lookout for Forest Fires.  

You can see from Grand Canyon, into Utah, and Zions, Bryce, the Henry Mts. etc... Amazing!

It's 100 feet high, and 80 years old.

The guy that works there 5 days a week, and 8 hours a day, will let you in and talk to you all about it. I think it gives him something to do while sitting up there.  

You have to come down when the winds reach 40mph, because at 50, you are unable to climb down.  

The tower was struck by lightening once, while he was inside.  It's grounded, and all that happened was a huge light.  He said he was a bit disappointed.  CRAZY!

It was a little nerve racking climbing up that hight, but once in the little shack on top, I got talking to the guy and looking at the view, and Chris called me on my cel, to tell me we should go :)

After our time at Grand Canyon, we had about a 2 hour drive to Lake Powell.  We stopped at a couple of places on our drive.  And saw a lot of beautiful scenery as well.  We drove past the Vermillion Cliffs, and stopped at Cliff Dwellers, and Navajo Bridge.  And from Navajo Bridge, we viewed Marble Canyon.  

Cliff Dwellers

  

Vermillion Cliffs

Navajo Bridge, and Marble Canyon

Lake Powell

Wahweep Resort

Our Campsite at Wahweep

Our first full day at Page AZ Lake Powell area, we hiked to Horseshoe Bend, took a tour of the Glen Canyon Dam, and went on our tour of Antelope Slot Canyon!  It was a busy and exciting day!!

Horseshoe Bend

I kept moving along the edge of the rocks, trying to find a place to get the whole thing in view.  There are always different rocks blocking the view just a bit.  So scary on the edge, you almost have to reach over to get good pics.

We never let Ruby out of the backpack.  I would have been a nervous wreck!

Horseshoe bend, behind the girls!

You just walk down to it, and it just drops down into the earth!

There aren't any railings, and it's a very deep drop.  A little scary when you get close to the edge to take your pics.

Tour of Glen Canyon Dam

Tour of Antelope Slot Canyon

Ok, so this is possibly my favorite!
We toured the upper canyon, but there is a lower one as well, with stair cases that take you way down inside.  Too much for a 2 yr old.

The next morning, we got up and went for a boat ride on Lake Powell.  

They took us up Antelope Canyon on the water.  

Again, super relaxing and fun fun fun!!

While at Lake Powell, we swam in the amazing pool every single day!  There were 2 pools to choose from.  Both very awesome!
My cousin John and his band Buckit, were also in town performing at Latitude 37 down on the docks.
We stayed up late one night listening to the band, and the girls had a super fun time dancing to the music.  I met some of John's friends.  They all love him!
He also showed us an amazing Burger place in town, (Page), where we had some super yummy lunch!

What an amazing trip!
There are so many other things I must see.  But I can totally see us coming back to Grand Canyon and Lake Powell again someday soon!!  So much more we didn't even explore!

Me and John D :)